‘The Secret Garden’ The Winter Term musical production

Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved Victorian classic, “The Secret Garden,” blossoms anew in this enchanting musical written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon.

“When young Mary Lennox loses her parents to a cholera outbreak in India, she is sent to live with her uncle, hermit Archibald Craven, who lives in an imposing, secluded manor on the British heath,” the plotline reads.

“Inside the haunting house upon the hill, Mary finds a reclusive, long-suffering collection of souls. Since her Aunt Lily’s death, Mary’s uncle has pushed away his surviving loved ones, leaving his bedridden son, Colin, alone. Sickly Colin, hidden away in the depths of the manner, bears the guilt of his mother’s death on his crippled shoulders.

When Mary discovers her Aunt Lily’s hidden garden, locked shut and overgrown with vines, stubborn Mary is determined to revive the beauty that once was. Surrounded by spirits from the past, who both warn and welcome her, determined Mary begins to peel away the layers of sadness that cover the house and the garden, showing us the power that ‘one small girl’ can have when she ‘wants things to grow.’ ”

This 2023 Winter Term production from Mt. Hood’s Theatre Department is a musical rendition of The Secret Garden, and I had the honor of going backstage and getting a sneak peek at the upcoming musical.

This play is directed by our campus’s own Alisha Christiansen, assisted by a vast staff. The Secret Garden has one of the biggest casts seen in a while at MHCC, with about 24 different cast members, all local aspiring actors and theater majors.

Although this script has many lead roles, many of the main leads (Mary, Collin) are being played by some incredible young stars, at age 9 and 11. The production is full of exuberant songs, music accompanied by the MHCC symphonic orchestra and band, pleasing choreography, flying rigged chandeliers, puppetry, and so many more surprises.

The cast and crew have already invested over four weeks into this production and are still rehearsing hard every day. All are invited to watch this delightful play running Feb. 24-26 and March 3-5 (showtimes 7 p.m. on Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. on Sunday). Admission is $10 for students, MHCC faculty, staff and senior citizens, and $15 for others.